Hussein Mubarak, a 21-year-old Black man, was a Somali refugee and the first in his family to graduate from high school and attend college. His sister described him as a caring, loving, and funny person who was committed to supporting others. His family had fled violence in Somalia, lived in a refugee camp in Kenya, and had resided in Burlington, Vermont, for more than 15 years.
On the evening of July 7, 2022, Mubarak was fatally shot in the head on Luck Street in Burlington’s Old
North End, just steps from his family's apartment. The shooting occurred around 7:40 p.m. as he was walking to meet his girlfriend. He was rushed to the University of Vermont Medical Center, where he died from his injuries. His death was the first homicide in the city in over two years.
Investigators believed the shooting was a targeted, planned "execution" rather than a random act. The investigation quickly focused on Abdiaziz Abdhikadir, 19, who was seen in the area moments before the shooting and was observed fleeing on foot into a nearby wooded area. Police believed the killing stemmed from an ongoing dispute between Abdhikadir and Mubarak's family. Both young men were part of the city's Somali Bantu immigrant community and had known each other for years. The conflict had allegedly escalated in February 2022, when Abdhikadir fired multiple shots into the Mubarak family home while six children and two adults were inside.
On October 26, 2022, prosecutors filed a first-degree murder charge against Abdiaziz Abdhikadir for Mubarak's death, along with eight counts of attempted murder for the February shooting. At the time, Abdhikadir was already incarcerated on unrelated charges stemming from a 2021 shooting. He pleaded not guilty. A month later, on November 21, police arrested a second man, 19-year-old Deon Mitchell, and charged him with being an accessory after the fact. Investigators alleged that Abdhikadir had used Mitchell’s residence as a base before and after the shooting and that evidence was recovered from the home. Mitchell was later released on court-ordered conditions.
The case against Abdhikadir did not go to trial. In December 2025, he reached a plea agreement with prosecutors, who cited a lack of strong evidence for the murder charge and a "strong potential for an acquittal." Abdhikadir pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter and guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice. He was sentenced to serve 14 years in prison. This resolution occurred in January 2026.
